I was going to write a trip report, but last week was too eventful and I'm afraid it's all going to take away from the fun we had at the parks. We had issues with our first Uber ride, trying to fly back home from MCO (had to stay an extra day, unplanned), our hotel Coronado Springs (Which i'll cover briefly), and Magical Express. Instead i'd like to focus on the good, and the parks were great and the area pretty. WDW and Florida is gorgeous and such a far cry from the dry desert.
From this DL Veteran's perspective, I'm going to write in some comments, reviews, and some general overall thoughts; doing so with the following format:
Miscellaneous Thoughts
Hotels - Coronado Springs 5 days, Dolphin 1
Parks, followed by Attraction Comments / reviews / comparison (to DL)
MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS:
-We were hoping to see a gator out in the wild with all of the beautiful lush landscape, but we didn't see one. I still can't decide if that's a good or bad thing
-It rained for the first day but everyday was pretty cold, with a high of 50 or 60+ degrees. Hey, for these Arizonans, that's pretty cold!
Disney-Specific miscellaneous Thoughts:
-Security was very thorough each time we visited the parks, but the lines were never atrocious like they would be at Disneyland.
-MAGIC BANDS: It's beyond me why Disneyland still hasn't done this. Magic Bands are amazing and so easy, this made our transactions a breeze.
-FastPass is interesting. At DL, you can buy a daily maxpass and with it you can book fastpass reservations on your phone at any time (with some restrictions of course). WDW allowed us to do 3 a few months in advance. I found that after our first 3 was up, it was difficult to get another one worthwhile. I think they both have advantages and disadvantages TBH.
-The food was overall bad. I mean, sometimes downright disgusting like the swimming-in-grease pizza from Italy in EPCOT. We were hard pressed to find a decent food joint. Disneyland food is generally good and they've made great improvements in the last few years. Disneyworld needs a total revamp in this area. I did not make any restaurant reservations because I wanted to scope everything out for our first time and see what looked good, so perhaps this was my fault. woops
-I want to comment on the boats too, between DHS and EPCOT. They're loud, they're smelly, and somehow they're really slow lol.
-WDW as a whole, is amazing. I love how everything lives and breathes Disney.
OUR STAY AT CORONADO SPRINGS:
First and foremost, our room was amazing. I mean for the price it was highly detailed and spacious. The restaurants were nice and almost every night we had that handmade Pizza from El Mercado De Coronado - WOW, the most delicious thing I've had at the entire resort, they are so good. The premises is very pretty, and our room was right by bus stop #3. I mean we really couldn't be any closer to it. We did have some problems; first, we opted out of room service for the $50 card. Our trash was piling up and we called housekeeping 3 separate days to pick it up. They never did until the 4th time, finally. Also the customer service was downright atrocious at times. Some CMs (SOME, not all) weren't interested and the manager looked like she hated what she did at check-in. We had bottled water shipped to Coronado and they couldn't find it for whatever reason. We called a few times before we left and they couldn't find it either. Eventually it was found, and they wanted to deliver it to our room the first night. Unfortunately we had to be in our room for it so basically it bit into our Disney Springs time. But the manager who dropped it off was very pleasant and nice, and really this was our first great CM experience of our first day.
For those of you wondering, it was late at night but we did make it out to Disney Springs and had some Polite Pig. That too was absolutely amazing.
OUR STAY AT WDW Dolphin:
Due to unforeseen circumstances at MCO, we had to stay another day. After some digging we decided to stay at WDW Dolphin and the staff here were a million times better then the CM's at Coronado. They also gave us a bag of toiletries and were super apologetic to things that wasn't even on the hotel. (I don't mean to be hard on CM's, you're all great at what you do and are downright a pleasure to speak with most of the time, but at Coronado they just weren't great and i'm very sorry to say so.)
The rooms were better at Coronado, but the location and transit options were nearly unbeatable for the price at Dolphin. I think our next trip, we'll be hard pressed to stay somewhere other then Dolphin. Also, the premises was really cool and it was right next to Boardwalk.
ALL 4 THEME PARKS:
Now on to the fun stuff!
EPCOT:
EPCOT felt like the biggest park of them all. I'm not sure if this is necessarily true but we had a good time here. I love the hidden gem attractions like Gran Fiesta Tour with the Three Caballeros and Living with the Land (The waits are never long and they're worthwhile). I like the overall feel of EPCOT, and I think it's especially cool that the CMs are from their respective countries. I had a hard time understanding some of their accents (France especially), but the friendly CMs are so much fun to talk to. Personally I viewed EPCOT as the "learning / shopping" park of them all.
Test Track 2.0:
Easily the coolest experience there. This was actually our first Disney World attraction, and it's where we finally realized "hey we're at Disneyworld!". It was something special. The soundtrack is so welcoming and beautiful, and they had some really cool ride elements like the experience of creating your own car and seeing how it performs. I know a lot of people on here liked the previous version better; I had to watch a video of it, and while I do think it made more sense, I think Test Track 2.0 is a welcome addition with a more futuristic approach. My only real complaint is that I think they could've added some more effects in the ride itself. Also i'm not sure if anything was broken but I had a feeling one or two things may not have been working as intended.
How does it compare to RSR? Well, I'm having a hard time comparing the two. It's the same ride system but they both aim to achieve a different experience. The technology in RSR is unmatched - the talking cars still, to this day, make my jaw drop. Test Track didn't quite have any elements like that, but it did have a speedy section in the end and a futuristic feel that I enjoyed.
Final Rating: A
Spaceship Earth:
I don't think I have too much to say about SSE. It was a fun experience, but does need a refurbishment as most of the animatronics are starting to show their age. The top of the attraction was so cool (the scene with the moon and the stars), as was going backwards but I couldn't help but feel a little cringe-y at the attraction cropping your head and showing you the future. The end area however is cool as they show where everyone is from on that huge map. I liked this ride, my lady not so much.
Final Rating: C
Mission: Space:
Ugh Mission Space. I remember this from my first visit 10 years ago; I was sicker than a dog. This experience wasn't too much better. We rode the lighter side (orange?), and I wasn't a fan of how claustrophobic it feels. I STILL got a woozy head from it and we didn't even touch the side that spins. I mean I know this ride is making its way into the classics, but I had a VR helmet at home for a few months and this experience wasn't far off from it.
Would I do this again? Not on my own free will.
Final Rating: F
Frozen Ever After:
I understand the hate (and quite frankly, i'm a part of it) with the IP implementation in the parks. But thank goodness I don't need to make any ill-will remarks to Frozen Ever After. This was a great ride and the effects / animatronics were impressive. It's always on a high wait but we didn't have any trouble getting a fastpass in advance. The second time we visited EPCOT I couldn't get one, which is disappointing, so we were only able to do this attraction once.
I'm not a big fan of Frozen but I thoroughly enjoyed Frozen Ever After. I wish we could've done it again.
Final Rating: A
Journey Into Imagination with Figment:
I don't think you all are gonna like what I have to say about this..
What is this? WHAT IS THIS? A budget version of Muppet Vision 3D with a dragon that torments you the whole ride?? I wouldn't say I hated, but I can't say the same for my lady. The theme song was a little annoying haha.
On a positive note, the disappearing butterfly effect was cool. And at least it's not a simulator.
Final Rating: D
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS:
Ready for an unpopular opinion? This was my favorite park, in certain aspects. It reminded me of a time where DCA was heading in a great direction, before management started to IP all over it. The overall feeling of being here; it's great, it's such a positive experience. I can't wait for MMRR and SWGE to be completed. I did have some recommendations however - I think they need their own trolley car system like California Adventure has (I really don't know why they don't), and Echo Lake makes little sense to me when it could be bulldozed back to Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and made into yet another great ride or area.
We didn't ride Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, or Star Tours mainly because Disneyland has these rides and there was no reason for us to spend our time on these experiences.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - what a site to see. Thank the good lord above this hasn't been converted into that huge eyesore on the west coast. On our first day, Monday, we headed over to DHS from EPCOT via boat and the very site of this ride made it all worthwhile. The Hollywood Tower Hotel looks stunning at night; pictures simply don't do it justice. After a 30 minute wait we got on, and it pains me to admit this but our first experience wasn't good. The outdoor / indoor music, narration; EVERYTHING was turned down low and quiet, making it hard to hear. The floating glass window effect didn't work either which was very confusing. We went on the right side (in the boiler room).
For our second ride a few days later, we went straight in the boiler room and the experience was better. Undoubtedly this attraction needs some work, as the show scenes, IMO, was better at the DCA ToT and better maintained. The audio sync is way off and noticeable even to a non-wdw person. The drop sequences aren't as long at DHS as they were at DCA either (but that's a given, the ride itself feels longer and created with more care). I think ToT in Florida could greatly benefit from having that downstairs radio and the chalk door that were both present in the DCA version.
Still, the experience overall was magnificent. I especially love the "snapping cable" sound effect before the elevator starts going crazy.
All in all, ToT in Florida is the one true, great version and it was glorious.. BUT, and it pains me to say this.. it needs a refurbishment.
Final Rating: A
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
I'll admit it, I was a little shaky before hopping on this one. I'm not a huge fan of twists and loops and all that jazz, and feeling the roughness of other rides (Everest, Barnstormer, Space Mountain, etc.. i'll get to them) shaped my expectations for the worse. But I was pleasantly surprised; this ride was an absolute blast. The twists and turns are only in the beginning and you're over with them pretty quickly, so the rest of the ride, being mostly upright was a plus. It was very smooth and who doesn't like to listen to Sweet Emotion while on a great coaster?
The pre-show also looked fantastic, and I love the decor. I've been foolish in thinking this ride needs a reskin, but really.. it doesn't. It's great just the way it is.
Final Rating: A
Muppet Vision 3D
Hello, and welcome to Muppet Vision threeeedeeeee! I missed this show so much and to this day I still can't understand why they took it out of California. I laughed much harder then I should've at every joke, and everyone in the theater was having a great time so It's not like I was noticeable. The pre-show is just as hilarious. My lady experienced it for the first time and she thought it was really cute.
Bring this back to California!! Do something GOOD at DCA for a change.
Final Rating: A
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
We had a fastpass for this and saw an afternoon show. We sat on the left side of the middle row somewhere; it was a good viewing area for us. It's a great time killer for sure, loads of fun, but nothing to phone home about.
Final Rating: B
Slinky Dog Dash
Yet another area I've been semi-harsh about, Toy Story Land. I thought it was a knock-off Pixar Pier, so imagine how relieved I was when I saw it in person and experienced it for myself. Toy Story Land is cute, and Slinky Dog was so much more fun then it looks. We didn't have a fastpass for it but had to rush there early in the morning, which is what I would recommend doing. It's not a fast coaster, it's not too scenic, but it's just the right amount of fun.
I recommend everyone give this ride a go at least once.
Final Rating: B
ANIMAL KINGDOM:
The Joe Rohde park. Animal Kingdom is.. well, good and bad. It's a very unique park, and I remember it was my favorite when I first visited 10+ years ago. I like how they incorporate the different lands, and how it's like a famous Zoo but with a Disney touch. On this trip, it unfortunately was my least favorite. It needs help and i'll explain why below. My fullest, biggest compliments go to Avatar Land; easily the best land in all of Disney World. I can only describe it with one word: wow. That's also the same word I would use to describe the wait times for Flight of Passage.
DINOSAUR!
Here we are, ladies and gentlemen. The biggest, single most disappointing attraction in all of Disneyworld. What a joke of a ride. Hardly any of the dinosaurs were working; actually, it was too dark to really see any of the dinosaurs. The running carnotaurus effect, something my lady and I were really excited to see, wasn't functional. In its place was some weird dinosaur head or something, I don't know it was too dark for me to figure out what it was. The effects are bad, like really bad. The highlight of our ride was carnotaurus sticking his head out on the final descent. Pathetic compared to Jurassic Park.
The second day we were at animal kingdom, we went back to see if running carnotaurus was working. A really cool CM was working that day and we had a nice chat about it - he informed us that it was going to be out for a few months. He also stated that Disney world maintenance simply isn't good and nearly apologized on behalf of Disney. There are a lot of broken effects on Disney world's older, major attractions and i'm semi-appalled that they don't give their rides the time of day with upgrades of proper maintenance.
Compared to the epic Indiana Jones Adventure attraction in California, this ride was an insult. And it's a shame, really, because Dinosaur could be something amazing.
Final Rating: D
Expedition Everest
The legendary mountain of the yeti; was it great?
The track needs to be replaced IMO because the coaster cars vibrate quite a bit. The backwards part is a blast, and the queue is fantastic. the hairbands at the top are pathetic, and actually, the second time we rode, one of the high school girls in the front car added another one to the collection. The yeti is also a sad experience. It would look good if the strobe light wasn't there, and maybe they did some sort of projection or left a static light on yeti, but with the strobe on, he's hard to see and IMO it amplifies the feeling that it's broken.
Overall, it's a good coaster that needs some TLC. Like, a 2+ year TLC. The only reason I gave it a B over a C, is because of the really cool sound effects that take place throughout the entire ride.
Final Rating: B
UP! A Great Bird Adventure Show
lol yet another experience to join the list of "um what?". Is there a reason why they added the characters from UP here? I feel like this hurt the quality of the overall show. I would like to say that Anika (if i'm not mispronouncing her name) is the show's saving grace, and you can tell she really cares for the birds. Oh, and of course, the birds themselves are beautiful.
Final Rating: C
Kali River Rapids
This was one of our fastpasses, but Disney changed it to the Safari. I'm glad they did. It was wayyyy too cold out.
Avatar Flight of Passage
Boy we had to prep for this one. We tried to get in line on our first AK day but by park opening, the line was already at an hour +. Throughout the day it stayed above 150 minute wait which was absolutely ridiculous. On Friday however we went to the park an hour before opening and we made it to FoP. Overall I would say this is easily the best Disney-made queue, even better than Indiana Jones Adventure. Everything flows so smoothly and there are a ton of things to see. Unfortunately, at park opening, they rushed us to the boarding line-up rows through the emergency exit so we didn't get to see the museum part just before the boarding area. I caught a glimpse of the floating Avatar and my breath was taken away.
Everything here was out of this world, and then the actual ride itself was just.. meh. Anti-Climatic, IMO. Why in the world is this a simulator? They couldn't make it a special type of rollercoaster or hang gliding ride or anything other than a simulator? I felt it was Soarin' 2.0, but I do think everyone should ride this at least once.
Overall, an unmatched queue experience with an anti-climatic ride system.
Final Rating: B
Avatar Na'vi River Journey
One our first day, when we couldn't make FoP, we opted to wait in line for Na'vi river journey instead. I'm so happy we got to experience this. The ride is breathtakingly beautiful, I'm not entirely sure how they pulled this one off. And that animatronic - I couldn't take my eyes off of it.
Nothing I say will do it justice. My only, only complaint I would have, is that I wish it was longer, or featured some kind of drop.
Final Rating: A
Safari
It's a Safari - with wild animals. A nice, relaxing journey with some pretty sights. To be frank, i'm surprised the Rhinos are as calm as they were. Seeing them made me a little nervous.
Final Rating: B
MAGIC KINGDOM:
I might be a little unfair on this park, but only because I grew up with Disneyland. MK is great, and I love that it's bigger then DL, but it does lack the ride density and a certain charm that Disneyland itself has.
TTA PeopleMover
My guilty pleasure in all of the parks. I liked PeopleMover a lot and I can't quite put my finger on why. Maybe it's because the ride is so relaxing and you get to see all of Tomorrowland from a different perspective. Getting the whole car to ourselves doesn't hurt either.
I'm going to be bias on the rating here, because this was my favorite thing to do in all of MK.
Final Rating: A
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
I hate to say it, but this isn't nearly as good as Big Thunder in California. We have the upgraded lift hill at the end, our track is much - MUCH smoother, and it has a better feel to it in that the animatronics are more pronounced and, dare I say, legendary.. like the goat chewing on the TNT stick lol. Who's queue is better? It depends on what you mean by better, but I did enjoy the interactive elements of BTMRR at WDW. The line just moves so fast that it's hard to play with everything.
Compared to DL's version, this ride is unique in its own ways but i'm grading it less because the track and ride itself isn't as comfortable.
Final Rating: C
Splash Mountain
No matter where you go, Splash Mountain will never fail to be a great experience.
WDW's version is slower, it takes it's time, and I did enjoy the double row seating over the single rows in DL. DL's version is more chaotic, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The final drop at DL is much better, but the first drop is much better at WDW.
Really this is a matter of what you like more; tame and controlled, or chaotic and more rapids-y. I would be hard pressed to pick a winner out of the two.
Final Rating: B
Haunted Mansion
Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion
The exterior looks better at Disneyland, without a doubt. The ride itself, from the beginning with Master Gracey deteriorating to a ghoul, to the exit and final ascent back to the human world, is a different story. Haunted Mansion was great, and IMO, a little better then the version at DL. All my DL peeps might be cursing at the screen, but I can't get over how cool the upside down staircase room is with the piano being played in the background. It's pleasingly fiendish. I have great things to say about the first hallway, with the flashing paintings (also present at DL, but before you board your doom buggy), and the library as well. Grim Grinnining Ghosts on the piano was spooky, but the shadow that plays the piano looks laughably bad. Still, it's not Constance I guess.
I wasn't a fan of the exterior: I think they banked a little too hard on forced perspective, and it didn't work. Also the canopy entrance is kind of weird. But that's where my critiques stop.
Oh, if it's any consolation - DL is the original, and you definitely feel it when you see it; but I do feel, opposite of what's been the norm, that this next version HM added a few extra things and kept all the great parts of the original HM ride.
Final Rating: B
Seven Dwarves Mine Train
And the Dwarves should indeed be proud of what their attraction has accomplished. This one is another must-do at the MK. The most special thing about it is the feeling I got when they start singing "Hi ho". It's the perfect blend of story, and outdoor coaster, unlike "Incredicoaster".
Final Rating: A
Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid
I actually added this one to the list because I wanted to comment on how fantastic the queue looks. DCA's is an outdoor section that WDW fans would laugh at. The ride systems are exactly the same.
Final Rating: B
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff he's..
Final Rating: C
Walt Disney World Railroad
Although the Grand Circle Tour was closed, we did check out the engine at Main Street Station. And I rang the bell; it was loud, and it was well. I like how much bigger these engines are, even though the track is the same gauge as Disneyland's. Hopefully next time we go, this will be running.
Space Mountain
The first time we rode this, I was in the second car first row. I didn't think anything was wrong with it; SM was a blast and I distinctly remember there being more drops here then there were at Disneyland.
The second time however was a different story. I somehow got the first row, first car, and because it was dark outside I could see inside the dome better. I felt like at any point I was about to get knocked in the head by a beam somewhere. And this time was much bumpier.
Either way, this was a fun ride that could greatly benefit from a major refurbishment. Disneyland's version is more composed and ultimately, better, seeing that it has a great on board soundtrack, is a lot smoother - although it is lacking on the drops. The coolest thing about WDW though, is the exit and main queue. I love the hotel lobby room feel with the carpet and everything else being right there at the exit, if that makes sense, and the beginning queue really puts you in space.
Final Rating: B
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
The only difference here was the queue. Both Queues (DL and WDW) have a cute pre-show, they're both just different. The windows in the Tiki Room look better at DL, as does the rain effect. WDW's Tiki Room still delivers with the same amount of fun.
Final Rating: A
Pirates of the Caribbean
I don't want to come out of the gates writing about how this version is way less superior compared to its Disneyland twin, but.. here we are. I'm sorry WDW fans, this version doesn't hold a candle to DL's version and if you've experienced both, i'm willing to put my money down that you would agree.
It's not that this version is bad per se, it's just shorter, some effects are missing, and there's a bit less to see. You don't even get to go up the lift hill and I found that to be bizarre. One thing I will say however is I like the talking skull before the drop.
Final Rating: C
CONCLUSION:
So, there you all have it. Thanks for taking the time to read and feel free to comment on any of my points above. I grew up with Disneyland so feel free to ask away if I missed anything.
PS. If you live in the Orlando area, tell me how much you love living there. I love Scottsdale but moving to Orlando in a few years isn't out of my mind.
Also, given the time zone adjustment and 6-hour flights to get there, we figured we'd need a day just to rest and acclimate when we arrive. I'll look into Newport Beach! Any and all suggestions for side trips are appreciated. 
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